Renata S. Pienkawa

Renata Sylvia Pienkawa earned her Master’s Degree from Teacher's College, Columbia University and B.A. from SUNY at Stony Brook, NY. She came to Smith College in 2013 after 27 years of teaching and mentoring student teachers for the Amherst Public Schools as well as acting as an ELL program coordinator for several years.

Renata is a highly recognized trainer in English language education, who has developed and provided hundreds of trainings and workshops to teachers all over the Commonwealth and beyond. She uses her knowledge of poetry, meditation, languages, and cultures in her teaching. Renata believes in capturing the depth of the present moment for teaching, inspiring, and making a difference in our fragmented world.

Currently, Renata is a host and co-producer of a program called “Journeys into Being” for Amherst Media Community TV. At Smith College, Renata is teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses, such as Introduction to Education and Rethinking Instruction for English Language Learners.